The field of the invention is a lighting system for use in aquariums, terrariums, bird cages, landscaping and archetectural models.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,179,911 teaches an aquarium which includes a housing, a screen, a tank for containing water and a conduit coupling the tank to the housing. The screen is disposed on a lower portion of the housing so that a space is formed below the screen.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,957,623 teaches an aquarium cleaning system which includes an undergravel cleaning apparatus and a fish tank having a bottom wall and side and end walls. The cleaning apparatus includes a rectangular frame having side and end walls sized to fit within the bottom portion of the tank. An apertured gravel-supporting floor plate is mounted on the top of the frame and defines a space within the frame beneath the floor plate. A stationary guide tube extends upwardly from the frame above the floor plate. A movable suction head is located within the space and is connected to a movable siphon tube extending upwardly through the guide tube. An upstanding aeration tube is mounted on the floor plate and has a coaxial air supply tube which supports an apertured wiper disc and an apertured filter cartridge, both having wiper elements engaged with the inside wall of the aeration tube to remove algae and detritus. The floor plate includes two grid sections with parallel slits. The lower section is movable to vary the degree of registration of the slits between fully opened and fully closed modes for special purposes.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,974,545 teaches an ornamental device for use in fluid-filled viewing tanks. The ornamental device enhances the aesthetic nature of the tank which has a decorative body member and an affixed retaining member for semi-permanently securing the ornamental device to an inner surface of the viewing tank.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,000,118 teaches an aesthetically pleasing aquatic/terrestrial display unit which provides a variety of novel optical effects. These novel optical effects include the illusion whereby aquatic and terrestrial environments are superimposed, sometimes with their geometrical relationships seemingly altered by attendant lensing effects.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,175,513 teaches a lighting and lightscaping system for use in aquariums and terrariums which includes a light chamber with removable drawers, light bulbs, a source of electrical current, normally open switches and ornamental sculptures. The light bulbs are contained in the removable drawers. The normally open switches close when the light drawers are closed in order to electrically couple the source of electrical current to the light bulbs. The ornamental sculptures dispenses light from the light chamber to the aquariums and terrariums.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,516,529 teaches an aquarium for housing fish and other aquatic life which is formed within a pyramidal housing. The upper portion of the pyramidal housing is formed of transparent triangular walls which enclose the water for the fish while permitting viewing of the fish. The lower portion of the pyramidal housing serves as a base for supporting the water, and includes a drawer which holds filtration, heating and aeration equipment while permitting ready access for servicing of the equipment. An internal pyramidal light is situated at the apex of the pyramidal housing within the walls and provides lighting. The location permits lighting of the entire water surface without any significant heating of the walls. All plumbing connections for treatment of the water are made through the floor of the chamber holding the water, thereby avoiding the presence of unsightly hoses and tubing. By the placing of the filtering equipment below the water chamber, the filtering system is able to self-prime, thereby eliminating the process of siphoning in the caring of the aquarium.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,703,720 teaches an upwardly opening aquarium tank which includes an outwardly convex partial spherical bottom wall. A base includes a standard portion of large cross-sectional area defining an upwardly opening pressure chamber. The standard portion includes a peripheral wall structure from whose upper marginal portion the bottom wall of the tank is supported. A seal structure forms a fluid tight seal between the tank bottom wall and the standard portion. The bottom wall includes air inlet check valve structure opening therethrough by which pressurized air from the pressure chamber may be admitted into the interior of the lower portion of the tank through the bottom wall thereof. The base includes an air pump for supplying air under pressure to the pressure chamber and a light diffusing filter panel is supported from the valve structure and overlies the bottom wall in spaced relation relative thereto. A source of illumination is contained within the pressure chamber and is operative to cast light upwardly through the tank bottom wall and the light diffusing filter panel.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,975,809 teaches that the visual attractiveness of a variety of otherwise-autonomous articles may be significantly enhanced through the inclusion of an apertured, internally light-transmissive essentially solid and preferably, peripherally light reflectively coated panel which is edge-illuminated and energized by elements self-contained within the article body. The article may include greeting cards, key-chain medallions, campaign buttons, tree ornaments, dolls and picture-carrying plaques. Article apertures of distributed area, point size or both may be thusly illuminated. Distributed-area display effects may be enhanced through aperture-aligned light-concentrative discontinuities formed in the panel. Enchancement of point-display effects may similarly be achieved through point-aperture-aligned, light-concentrative point discontinuities likewise formed in the panel. Point effects may also be enhanced through the employment of an end-illuminated, aperture-aligned, point-discontinuous optical fiber in conjunction with a subject apertured panel. Bi-directional display effects in subject autonomous articles may be achieved by means of a layered panel having oppositely-projective surfaces. For realizations where increased article thickness is tolerable, color-variation effects may be achieved by the inclusion of an illuminating optical-fiber array whose input ends are themselves illuminated through a multicolored filter ring rotatably-interposed in front of an originating light source.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,617,751 teaches fishing tackle for catching fish with a fishing line which constitutes a light guide, at one end of which the light from a natural or artificial light source can be focused, and at the other end of which a bait with reflecting, luminescent, transmittent or light-scattering properties is located. The fishing tackle also includes an opto-electronic energy transformer, an electric energy storage circuit, an optic beam splitter and a light detector.